


I Think I'll Figure It Out with a Little More Time

by iktwabrokenbone (apiculteur)



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Cliche, Didn't Know They Were Dating, M/M, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 03:11:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2008701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apiculteur/pseuds/iktwabrokenbone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler and Josh weren't dating. Honestly. They were good friends, and nothing more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Think I'll Figure It Out with a Little More Time

**Author's Note:**

> kinda short and super cheesy. i s2g i _will_ come up with a reason as to why they would fake date, and as soon as i do i will write something even more cliched than this.
> 
> title from turn off the lights by panic! at the disco
> 
> EDIT: there is now a translation in [ру́сский](https://ficbook.net/readfic/4941108)!!! honestly i find it so cool when ppl translate my stuff i wish i knew russian so i could actually read it

Tyler and Josh weren't dating. Honestly. They were good friends, and nothing more. People joked about them dating all the time- friends, family, media, and fans alike- but they weren't. Often, interviewers asked them about it, and, yeah, he could see where they were coming from- if he was an outsider looking in on their relationship, he'd probably think the same-and was kinda flattered that they thought he was in Josh's league, but they just _weren't_.

He was pretty sure Mark still thought they were dating, since if Tyler ever said he was going to hang out with Josh, Mark would try to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively, which made him look more in need of a doctor than anything else, but Tyler knew what he meant. He had tried to convince Mark that they weren't dating, but he'd just agreed in a way that obviously meant he didn't believe him at all, then told them, "Just don't have sex while I'm around."

He just ignored it, for the most part. It wasn't some massive, central part of his life, not something he always thought of, just something he remembered when someone else once again asked if they were dating, only to give him a look of scepticism when he told them they weren't dating.

Sometimes, though, he wondered about it, because, really, they didn't act _that_ close. They shared a lollipop in an interview once, talked about each other- they were in a two man band, they kinda _had_ to- and weren't uncomfortable with getting very close to each other. There must be more things than just that to make everyone so convinced, but he couldn't think of them.

The things he had thought up were just regular things friends did, though. People shared popcorn at the theatre, and he had seen straight girls kiss each other and never get asked whether they were dating. Granted, people hadn't had the popcorn in their mouth when they shared it with their friends, but that still left the kissing.

Eventually, he decided that people just saw what they wanted to see. Someone had probably seen how close they were, spread around a rumour they were dating, and people had latched onto it.

So, when Mark, the only other person on the bus apart from Josh and Tyler at that time, left, making a crack about how he wouldn't be too long, and they wouldn't be able to get in a second round, Tyler had turned to Josh. They were holding hands and lying down pressed up against each other on Josh's bunk, and Tyler asked, "Why do you think people always act as though we're dating?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we're dating?" Josh suggested jokingly, and Typer huffed a laugh.

"Yeah, but seriously, why?" He was curious as to what Josh's answer would be.

Josh just looked confused for a few seconds, before some realisation seemed to dawn on him. For a short while, he just looked shocked, then it crumbled down to hurt. It was wiped off his face before Tyler could look too far into his expression. Josh's smile was fake when he shrugged, saying, "I dunno, Ty. I guess we're just tight."

Tyler ignored his answer, squeezing his hand gently and looking concerned. "You okay? You seemed kinda upset for a while there."

"Fine. It's fine. Just... tired, y'know? My mind's acting up."

It sounded like bullshit, but Josh looked like he didn't want to tell Tyler anything, so he left it alone. "Okay. You can tell me whatever you want, though. You know that."

Josh smiled weakly, nodding, then squirmed a bit. "I want some Red Bull," Josh announced, then got out of the bunk quickly. Tyler followed, confused.

Josh didn't let Tyler get really close again for the rest of the night, but Tyler figured that it'd probably be back to normal after they got to sleep.

***

It wasn't normal the next day, though. Josh continued to keep his distance from Tyler, acting normal with everyone else, whilst pulling away from Tyler, still playing Mario Kart with him, but never sitting too close or joking as much. It kinda hurt.

But time usually helped, so Tyler let him back off, let him only make contact in the form of a hand on his shoulder.

When a week had passed, and they still were hardly talking, Tyler just felt _confused_. He didn't know what he'd done, and he was pretty sure Josh wasn't even angry with him, just really _upset_ , which was so much worse.

He couldn't think why Josh would be like this, just wanted things to be back to normal, so he went to Mark.

"Mark," he said, and he could see that Mark already knew he was asking for advice. "Why is Josh upset with me?"

And, okay, he'd known Mark would act a bit exasperated with him, and that he'd maybe insult Tyler's ability to notice what other people were feeling, but he didn't think Mark would get angry at him. "Tyler, you can't just break up with him, act as though everything is normal, then still expect him to instantly be able to go back with being buds with you," he said, looking pissed.

"Wait- what?" he asked, because that was _not_ what had happened. He wasn't sure what _had_  happened, but it wasn't that. He laughed. "Mark, I know you kept joking about it, but we weren't dating. I didn't break up with him, because we were never dating."

Mark just stared at him for a few seconds, and Tyler thought he was going to start shouting or something, but he just furrowed his brow. "You genuinely believe that, don't you?" he said, shaking his head, then walked away.

Normally, Tyler would've ignored him, assuming that it was just some stupid joke, but Mark had looked serious, and everyone knew Mark was terrible at keeping a straight face. So he ended up thinking about it, and realising that it'd been after he'd asked why people always thought they were dating that Josh had distanced himself. Josh had thought they were dating.

And, really, when Tyler started thinking about it, they _had_ been dating. Sometimes they'd even kissed, when no one else was around to judge them, just a quick peck, but _still_. They had definitely been dating, and Tyler was starting to feel worried about himself, because how could he _not_ pick up on that? It was so painfully obvious, and everyone else had seen it easy enough. Tyler had even admitted that he could see why people thought they were dating, yet didn't realise that _they were dating._

He ran to find Josh, getting some funny looks for running around and occasionally almost tripping up, stopping whenever he saw someone he knew, so he could ask if they knew where Josh was.

It was Patrick who nodded and said, "Uh, yeah, I think he's on our bus," and it sounded like he was probably going to saying something else, but Tyler ran towards their bus before he finished his sentence, making a mental note to apologise later.

He flung the door open, and Pete and Josh stared at him from where they sat, making Tyler feel like a bit of an idiot. "Um, the door got... stuck..." he muttered, closing it gently behind him, taking a few more steps into the bus. "Do you mind if I talk to Josh?"

Pete shrugged, glancing at Josh for confirmation that this was okay before he left the bus.

Tyler sat down next to Josh, making sure to maintain the minimum distance that Josh had insisted upon keeping between the two of them lately. Josh looked like he felt uncomfortable, like he wasn't quite ready for this conversation yet. "I'm sorry," Tyler said. "I didn't realise we were dating."

Josh looked up at that, staring directly into his eyes. "You _didn't realise we were dating_?" he repeated. Josh had to be a saint, really, with all the bullshit he put up with.

The blush was probably down his neck when he nodded. "But if I did realise, I wouldn't have broken up with you. And I would have kissed you so much more, too." His voice trailed off towards the end, not sure if Josh wanted to date him anymore.

Josh shrugged, as though it was no great loss. "We could always start over," he suggested, looking just slightly to the left of Tyler's face.

"Yeah," Tyler said, trying not to grin too much. He hadn't been expecting that at all, but he was _so_ up for it. "Can we start now?"

"Definitely."

Tyler went to lean in, but the door to the bus opened and Pete came back in. "Oh- _dude_ , can't you guys go back to your bus now?"

They grinned as they left. Pete was muttering something about how he never made out with his boyfriend on their bus, and Tyler was pretty sure they were going to get a lot of that sort of thing now, but that was okay. That was _great_.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. kudos and comments would be appreciated.


End file.
